Baumruk v. State

• Decision Date: 29 May 2012
• Docket Number: No. SC 91564.,SC 91564.
• Citation: 364 S.W.3d 518
• Parties: Kenneth BAUMRUK, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

364 S.W.3d 518

Kenneth BAUMRUK, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Missouri, Respondent.

No. SC 91564.

Supreme Court of Missouri,
En Banc.

April 17, 2012.
Rehearing Denied May 29, 2012.

[364 S.W.3d 523]

William J. Swift, Public Defender's Office, Columbia, for Baumruk.

Daniel N. McPherson, Attorney General's Office, Jefferson City, for The State.

ZEL M. FISCHER, Judge.

This is an appeal from the St. Charles County circuit court's judgment overruling Kenneth Baumruk's Rule 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief. This Court previously affirmed Baumruk's guilty verdict on one count of first degree murder and his sentence of death. See State v. Baumruk, 280 S.W.3d 600 (Mo. banc 2009) (Baumruk III ).

After that appeal, Baumruk filed a Rule 29.15 pro se motion for post-conviction relief, and appointed counsel later filed an amended motion. An evidentiary hearing was held on most, but not all, of the claims set forth by the motion. After the evidentiary hearing, the motion court entered findings and a judgment overruling Baumruk's motion. Because a death sentence was imposed, this Court has exclusive jurisdiction over this appeal. Mo. Const. art. V, sec. 10; order of June 16, 1988.

FACTS¹

On May 5, 1992, Baumruk and his wife appeared in St. Louis County circuit court for a hearing regarding the dissolution of their marriage. On that day, Baumruk secretly carried two .38 caliber handguns in his briefcase. During the hearing, Baumruk drew both the guns out of his briefcase and opened fire, first on his wife, then her attorney, then his own attorney. Baumruk then shot at Judge Hais, the judge presiding over the case, but Judge Hais escaped through a door behind the bench.

Baumruk, with his weapons still drawn, exited the courtroom into the hallway in

[364 S.W.3d 524]

search of Judge Hais. In the hallway, he shot a bailiff in the shoulder. As his search of the courthouse continued, he fired shots at two police officers; Jim Hartwick, a St. Louis County prosecutor's office investigator; and a security guard. He hit only the security guard. After this, Baumruk was confronted by additional police officers. Baumruk shot at one of these officers and missed; the officers returned fire, hitting Baumruk nine times. Two of these shots hit Baumruk in the head. In total, before Baumruk was subdued by the police, he had shot at nine different individuals, hitting four of them, killing one of those four. The one he killed was his wife.

Baumruk initially was charged with one count of first degree murder and multiple counts of first degree assault and armed criminal action in St. Louis County. However, his motion for change of venue was sustained, and his case was transferred to Macon County. Because of the brain injuries that resulted from Baumruk being shot in the head twice, the circuit court held what would be the first of three hearings regarding Baumruk's competency. Afterwards, the circuit court determined that Baumruk was not competent to stand trial. For this reason, the Macon County circuit court ultimately dismissed the charges against Baumruk after being ordered to do so by this Court in State ex rel. Baumruk v. Belt, 964 S.W.2d 443 (Mo. banc 1998) (Baumruk I ).

The St. Louis County prosecutor subsequently obtained an 18–count indictment against Baumruk, which included one count of first degree murder for the killing of Baumruk's wife. The St. Louis County circuit court held a second hearing regarding Baumruk's competency in 2000. “The trial court determined that despite the injuries caused by gunshot wounds to his head, Baumruk was now competent to understand and appreciate the proceedings and assist in his own defense.” State v. Baumruk, 85 S.W.3d 644, 648 (Mo. banc 2002) (Baumruk II ). Baumruk again filed a motion to change venue, but this time it was overruled.

In 2001, Baumruk was tried in front of a jury, found guilty, and, in accordance with the jury's recommendation, sentenced to death. He appealed the conviction to this Court, which reversed the judgment and remanded with directions to the St. Louis County circuit court to sustain Baumruk's motion for change of venue. Baumruk II, 85 S.W.3d at 651.

The St. Louis County circuit court transferred the case to St. Charles County. In 2005, the St. Charles County circuit court held a third hearing regarding Baumruk's competency. At the conclusion of the hearing, the St. Charles County circuit court determined that Baumruk was competent to stand trial.

In 2007, Baumruk was retried for the murder of his wife. The State presented numerous witnesses who testified about Baumruk's plan to shoot his wife and the execution of that plan. Baumruk presented evidence that he was not guilty because he lacked responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect. He presented the testimony of Dr. Elizabeth Nettles, a psychologist, and Dr. Moisy Shopper, a psychiatrist. Both testified that Baumruk suffered from a delusional disorder. They opined that this mental disease or defect caused Baumruk to have persecutory delusions that the system was against him, that he was singled out, and that the system was corrupt. They also testified that Baumruk's anger and violent behavior were products of this disease. In their opinion, Baumruk did not appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct and was incapable of conforming his conduct to the requirements of the law.

[364 S.W.3d 525]

At the conclusion of Baumruk's defense, the State presented rebuttal evidence through the testimony of two psychiatrists, Dr. Jerome Peters and Dr. John Rabun. Dr. Rabun testified that he found no evidence that Baumruk suffered from delusions or from a mental disease or defect. Instead, Dr. Rabun found that Baumruk's acts were driven by hatred and anger toward his wife and the courts.

At the completion of the guilt phase of the trial, the jury found Baumruk guilty of first degree murder. The jury then was presented evidence during the penalty phase, after which it found several statutory aggravating factors. These factors were that the murder of Baumruk's wife “involved depravity of mind” and “was outrageously and wantonly vile, horrible, and inhuman;” that Baumruk, by his act of murdering his wife, “knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person by means of a weapon that would normally be hazardous to the lives of more than one person;” and that the murder of his wife was committed while Baumruk was engaged in the attempted commission of eight other unlawful homicides. The circuit court entered judgment imposing the death penalty on Baumruk.

This Court affirmed Baumruk's conviction and sentence in Baumruk III, 280 S.W.3d 600.

Baumruk timely filed a pro se Rule 29.15 motion, and his appointed counsel filed an amended motion that raised numerous claims and incorporated claims from Baumruk's pro se motion. The motion court denied some of the claims without an evidentiary hearing and held an evidentiary hearing on the remaining claims. The court issued a judgment overruling all claims put forth by the motion.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

This Court in “reviewing the overruling of a motion for post-conviction relief ” presumes that the motion court's findings are correct. Zink v. State, 278 S.W.3d 170, 175 (Mo. banc 2009). For this reason, “[a] motion court's judgment will be overturned only when either its findings of facts or its conclusions of law are clearly erroneous.” Id.; Rule 29.15(k). Therefore, to overturn the ruling of the motion court on a Rule 29.15 motion, this Court must be left “with a definite and firm impression” that the motion court made a mistake. Zink, 278 S.W.3d at 175 (internal quotation omitted).

A motion court clearly erred in overruling a Rule 29.15 motion's request for an evidentiary hearing only if movant can show 1) that his motion alleged facts, not conclusions, warranting relief; 2) the facts alleged were “not conclusively refuted by the files and records in the case;” and 3) “the matters complained of ... resulted in prejudice to the movant.” State v. Driver, 912 S.W.2d 52, 55 (Mo. banc 1995).

Baumruk alleges that his competency hearing counsel, trial counsel, and appellate counsel were ineffective for numerous reasons. To succeed on an allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel, Baumruk must show 1) “that his counsel's representation ‘fell below an objective standard of reasonableness;’ ” and 2) “that this deficiency prejudiced him, meaning that ‘there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.’ ” Edwards v. State, 200 S.W.3d 500, 518 (Mo. banc 2006) (quoting Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687–88, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). “A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” Id. In making this determination,

[364 S.W.3d 526]

Baumruk's counsel's performance is presumed reasonable. Id.

INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COMPETENCY HEARING COUNSEL First Competency Hearing Counsel Ineffective for Seeking Dismissal of Charges

Baumruk argues that the motion court clearly erred in overruling, without an evidentiary hearing, his claim that his first competency hearing counsel was ineffective for ignoring his wishes to remain under the state mental health department's custody and pursuing a writ in Baumruk I that sought to have the charges against him dismissed. Baumruk alleges that the dismissal of these charges prejudiced him because it allowed the charges to be refiled in St. Louis County, which resulted in his conviction and, ultimately, his death sentence.

The motion court overruled this claim without an evidentiary hearing because it found that Baumruk's charges had to “be dismissed under the clear mandate of § 552.020.10, RSMo” 1994, as explained in Baumruk I, 964 S.W.2d at 447. It also noted that this Court determined in Baumruk II that an initial finding that Baumruk was incompetent did not bar a subsequent determination that he was competent to...